Hi Ed
And of course, that's pretty close to the decision I had to make. The recent release of tons of what seem to be pretty well-made ARFs caught my eye, and the onset of viable electric power also has my interest. I started into the electrics pretty hard and then realized that here in Maine we don't have a great number experienced electric flyers for me to spend time with and learn from. I joined a club an hour from here and went there with my new electrics and some questions only to be snubbed pretty hard by these guys who thought I was a newbie because I was asking questions about setting up the electric models. So they're here, but the ones I've met so far, I'd just as soon have nothing to do with them. And at best they were intermediate flyers. I went back the next week with my Saito-powered birds and blew them away. I have a lot of friends in Texas who are actively into the electric models now, so I'm going to bide my time until I move back there and do a few things by phone with them in the meantime. This whole (silly) story is my lead-in to my plans to see how much effort electric flight requires, and whether electric is going to be viable by my standards with the 46, 60 and 90 sizers, and of course, whether it will save me time, trouble, and money in the long run. I have to say, I have a BIG bottle of 409, a roll of paper towels, and de-oiling a plane just doesn't bother me a bit. In fact, I'm a bit afraid that after 30 years I might suffer severe withdrawal without some nitro and castor oil soaking into my skin on a regular basis!
Back to the small-to-medium ARFs, I think that the most enjoyable thing has been the ability to break some of these new ARFs down easily (Wing tubes are COOL!) or even better, with some of them just popping them into my car or my truck bed in one piece. Probably the single coolest thing that has come from having to restock my hangar is the new Spektrum radio I got. Being an active flyer for 30 years now, I've been shot down my share of times, as have many of my friends. What a great feeling knowing that you're not going to be shot down! Of course, this now removes all doubt about the pilot error thing, so I'm going to have to be as good as I say I am......or I'll never hear the end of it!

Jim